site.btaPresident Radev Warns of Euro-Switch Risks and Selective Justice During Arsenal Plant Visit

Calls for a rethink of Bulgaria’s path to the eurozone intensified, President Rumen Radev said Friday, after warning that the planned currency switch is moving ahead without a referendum or the necessary preparation.

Radev spoke in Kazanlak following a tour of the Arsenal defence plant, where he also criticized what he described as selective justice.

Radev recalled that the EU Council approved Bulgaria’s eurozone accession on July 8, 2025 and the country is scheduled to adopt the single currency on January 1, 2026. He argued that prices began rising immediately after the European Commission and the European Central Bank issued positive convergence reports on June 4.

Revenue collection is falling, investment is at a record low and industrial output is shrinking, he said, while Government policy “boils down to pushing us into a debt spiral, which is being presented as some unprecedented success,” Radev said.

The President linked economic concerns to public discontent, noting that city squares are now filled with demonstrators calling for a referendum on the euro and objecting to what they see as rushed preparations. The authorities’ handling of both the economy and justice, he added, is widening social divisions.

During his visit to Arsenal, Radev praised the plant’s role in the regional economy. “The honest Bulgarian business, which develops high-tech production, upholds Bulgaria's position and is successful on the world markets, and pays taxes in Bulgaria, deserves institutions' support. Particularly when a company like this one creates and maintains thousands of jobs and contributes to the whole region's development,” he noted.

Interest from Central Asian partners has grown since Radev’s visit to the region earlier this year, creating fresh export and industrial-co-operation opportunities, he added.

Asked about the recent detention of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, Radev argued that law-enforcement bodies apply the law unevenly. “The law enforcement bodies are ruthlessly investigating the opposition but remain silent when it comes to those in power,” Radev said. “The government's inadequate actions are deepening divisions in society, while thousands of citizens are protesting against selective justice.”

He went on to warn that the situation is now obvious outside of Bulgaria. “This leads to other consequences, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to deceive Europe about what is happening here. We are all now seeing clearly that democracy in our country is a facade, the government is just a backdrop for the [Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning Leader Delyan] Peevski and [GERB Leader Boyko] Borissov duo, and justice is applied selectively,” he added.